One of the ways that computers 'think' is by analysing relationships within large sets of data. An international team has shown that quantum computers can do one such analysis faster than classical computers, for a wider array of data types than was previously expected.

The team's proposed 'quantum linear system algorithm' is published in the 2 February issue of Physical Review Letters. In the future, it could help crunch numbers on problems as varied as commodities pricing, social networks and chemical structures.